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UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann

Ronda Rousey (8-0) vs. Sara McMann (7-0)

Women's bantamweight title boutLine: Rousey -450, McMann +300

Ronda Rousey defends her title belt for the second time in two months as she takes on Sara McMann Saturday night at UFC 170 in Las Vegas.

Rousey is coming off the most difficult match of her career against Miesha Tate on Dec. 28, but was able to get the victory in the third round. This was the first match in her career that made it past the first round, but she did a terrific job of getting the win against a fierce competitor. For Rousey, she will always go into the octagon thinking that she is the best fighter in the match. Her strength and competitiveness are her two biggest advantages. She will be facing an opponent in McMann that will be fighting in just her second career UFC match. In her most recent bout at UFC 159 on April 27, she showed her knockout out ability by delivering devastating punches to knock out Sheila Gaff in just 54 seconds. If she is able to keep the match on her feet, she has a chance. However, no fighter has been able to do that to Rousey, and that will not start on Saturday night. Look for the heavily-favored ROUSEY to once again win this fight in dominating fashion.

Here is the Bet DSI breakdown on all the big fights on Saturday's UFC 170 main card:

"Rowdy" Rousey has eight career victories, and all of eight of them have come by way of arm-bar submission. Seven of those wins were finished in the first round. Her opponents all know what she is looking to do, but it has not mattered. She has a staggering takedown average of 8.11, but McMann also has an impressive takedown average of 6.78. Rousey’s submission average of 6.08 is also extremely high. Basically, if she is able to get the match to the ground, you can chalk it up as a win for Rousey. She has an average of 2.66 significant strikes landed per minute, while McMann is nearly as effective with 2.57 strikes landed per minute. The 27-year-old Rousey’s confidence entering the octagon is unparalleled in the sport. If she comes into the fight too confident, then McMann may have one chance to get the victory.

McMann has seven victories in her career, with three of them coming by decision. She also has two wins by knockout and two by submission, showing that she is a well-rounded fighter. A big statistic to look at for McMann is her takedown defense of 100 percent. While she has not faced anybody that has the takedown ability of Rousey, she has done a great job in her career of not getting taken to the ground. She also defends strikes pretty well at 55%, which is very close to Rousey's 56% striking defense. That vicious knockout power she displayed in her last match showed what she is capable of. The 33-year-old Gardner-Webb University graduate will be going into the fight looking for a career defining moment, but she must not allow Rousey to get her on the ground. These women both weigh 135 pounds with Rousey holding the slight one-inch height advantage.